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Martin Luther or Why steam engines don’t belong in the desert
November 23, 2011 | 
Author Life in the desert wasn’t easy for the German colonialists of the late 1800′s. Heavy freight could only be moved by ox wagon. However there was little food and water to feed the oxen in the desert. A steam locomotive seemed to be the answer, unfortunately this is where the trouble really started.
When the German Schutztruppe took over the Namibian coastline they faced several challenges. Not only was the coast a mariner’s nightmare, but on landing they were greeted by kilometres of desert blocking the way inland. The only way to transport supplies was by ox wagon and this proved horribly inefficient. The desert provided neither food nor water for the animals and so death of the oxen was a common cause of delay in supplies.
The German ox
It was a lieutenant of the Schutztruppe, Edmund Troost, who decided to do something about this. He hoped that machines could do, what the oxen couldn’t and so in 1896 he imported a steam engine from Halberstadt in Germany. The locomotive arrived safely in Walvis Bay along with the engine driver. The troubles seemed to be over, but then the Nama – Herero wars broke out.
Troost had to attend to his duties as a military officer, which kept the machine in Walvis Bay for 4 months. By the time Troost got back the engine-driver had gone back to Germany and a replacement was needed. An American prospector got the engine running, but the trip to Swakopmund proved to be a difficult task. Scarce and expensive freshwater supplies to keep the steam engine going were one obstacle, the locomotive getting stuck in desert sand the other. It eventually took Troost 3 months to cover the 30 km to Swakopmund.
Here I Stand…
When the engine finally started moving supplies inland, it sent the locals running. It was announced that this was a very strong ox from Germany. However this ox wasn’t coping very well in his new habitat. Freshwater supplies remained a problem and a lot of fire wood was needed as well. The locomotive had to take so much firewood, that there was little room for other supplies. Eventually the strong German ox died on the side of the road just like his animal brothers.
After this people started joking that the German ox was now called Martin Luther for the word of the reformer “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise” now applied to him as well. The national monument is now restored and on display in Swakopmund.
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